WS #12470

The US-Iran conflict remains the dominant macro driver, with the ninth consecutive night of US strikes and Iran retaliating with ballistic missiles. The Strait of Hormuz is effectively shut, pushing Brent crude above $90/barrel. However, a key counter-signal emerged: Reuters reports that Iran is keeping talks alive despite hostilities, and US indices rose on this de-escalation signal. Oil prices eased slightly on the news. The narrative is ESCALATING but with a potential de-escalation catalyst. Separately, UK political transition: Andy Burnham became PM, pledging to end rough sleeping and scrapping the digital ID scheme. This is a domestic UK story with limited direct US market impact. In corporate news, Hut 8 surged 14% on a $9.8B AI data-center lease, lifting the compute sector. Alibaba's AliExpress was fined €550M by the EU, a negative for BABA. Goldman Sachs seeks to issue preferred shares, raising questions about market confidence. Hedge funds sold US tech stocks at a record pace per Goldman. Short bets on US stocks hit a record high. The macro picture shows a tug-of-war between geopolitical risk and dip-buying in tech.